10/01/2025
Iâm a 40âyearâold single mom raising two kids. My 12âyearâold son, Caleb, lost his closest friend, Louis, to cancer last year. The boys were inseparableâlittle league teammates, shared sleepovers, even matching Halloween costumes. When Louis passed, Caleb stormed home from the funeral, shut the bedroom door, and sat for hours clutching Louisâs old baseball glove. His silence was the most painful thing I ever heard. Therapy helped a little, but Caleb dreamed bigger. Louisâs mother was broke, and one evening at dinner, Caleb turned to me and said, âMom, Louis deserves a headstone and a night where everyone remembers him.â That summer, while other kids rode bikes to the Dairy Queen, Caleb began working: mowing lawns, walking neighborsâ dogs, washing cars for five dollars each. Each time, he would rush home, pile the crumpled bills into a shoebox and whisper, âMom, weâve got $370 now!â He even gave up his birthday money for the cause. Then disaster struck. A fire broke out in our laundry room. We escaped unharmed, thank God, but the next morning Caleb shouted when he opened his room: the shoebox was goneâmonths of hard work reduced to ash. He sobbed, âI promised Louis. This isnât fair.â I didnât know how to fix it. A week later, I found an envelope in our charred mailboxâno return address, just one line: > âMeet me at the old market building Friday at 7 p.m. BRING CALEB.â We went. The lot was packed with cars. Inside, the lights were blazing. Caleb clutched my hand, eyes wide. And as we stepped inside, we frozeânot just because it was surprising, but because it was impossible.